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University Pays Tribute to Founders with Artwork, Festivities

The Inge Foundation Commissions New Relief Sculpture Featured in Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center

Nov. 26, 2018

Commissioned by The Inge Foundation and created by artist Scott Myers, The Founders sculpture featuring, from left, Eugene McDermott, Erik Jonsson and Cecil Green was unveiled at the Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center.

Hundreds of students, staff and faculty line the reflecting pools on the south end of Margaret McDermott Mall and display a mini-Whoosh, a symbol of Comet pride, on a picture-perfect Founders Day at UT Dallas.

Historical studies junior Dylan Sams holds his 2018 Founders Day shirt that has the surnames of the University's three founders.

UT Dallas President Richard C. Benson announces the four winners of a Founders Day treasure hunt organized by the Division of Student Affairs.

Biochemistry freshman Mekdes Abera (left) and biology freshman Selena Nguyen show their Comet pride by displaying a mini-Whoosh with University President Richard C. Benson.

Artist Scott Myers stands next to his original sketch of the University’s founders on which he based the new sculpture. Myers has his work on display throughout the United States and in Italy. He has also sculpted 19 life-size bronze busts displayed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

The Founders, a bronze relief sculpture paying tribute to the vision and ingenuity of The University of Texas at Dallas founders, Eugene McDermott, Erik Jonsson and Cecil Green, was unveiled Oct. 29 at a private ceremony attended by alumni, supporters and University leaders during the fifth annual Founders Day festivities on campus. Commissioned by The Inge Foundation, the sculpture was created by artist Scott Myers and features twice-life-size images of McDermott, Jonsson and Green.

“Erik Jonsson, Eugene McDermott and Cecil Green were larger than life in their aspirations and achievements,” said Charles Inge, co-founder of The Inge Foundation. “I do not want any of us to forget the remarkable contributions they made.”

In the early 1960s, Inge, as a young real estate broker, handled the selection and assemblage of an approximately 1,200-acre tract of land north of Campbell Road, then dotted only with farmhouses and sprawling fields. That property became the site of the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest and today is home to the University’s campus. For half a century, Inge has witnessed UT Dallas’ evolution, a transformation sparked by the foresight of the founders.

Representatives from The Inge Foundation took part in The Founders relief sculpture unveiling. From left: Peyton Inge, Jana Inge, Dominique Inge and Charles Inge.

“Those three gentlemen are people I have admired throughout my adult life,” said Inge, recalling interactions with the visionaries, including a message once relayed to him by Jonsson: “Whatever you give to your community comes back multiplied.”

In 2017 Inge and his wife, Dominique, made a gift to the University to name The Inge Foundation Conference Room on the first level of the Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center. The new sculpture adorns the wall outside the conference room.

To bring the bronze piece to life, Myers reviewed visuals and historical documentation from around the time when the three men established the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest, a private research institution that in 1969 became UT Dallas. He worked mainly from photographs of the founders, focusing on images of all three men together so he could study them in relation to one another.

“When you are sculpting someone, you want to catch their essence. You want to look at their eyes and not just sculpt their physical likeness, you want to sculpt their character,” Myers said. “I found there was a humbleness about their look and a lot of drive in their eyes.”

Researching the men’s accomplishments and listening to personal anecdotes from Inge helped Myers understand the importance of capturing the subjects’ determination, persistence, focus and intensity.

According to Myers, a relief sculpture is essentially drawing in three dimensions. He began the yearlong process by sketching the figures, adjusting the scale and meticulously reworking the details. With the sketch affixed to a wooden board and coated with lacquer, Myers then used layers of oil-based clay to introduce dimension and depth to the piece. He sought insight from individuals who knew the subjects to ensure the resulting likenesses were truly characteristic.

“This is American history,” Myers said. “These three men pioneered a new way of thinking that changed not only Texas, but also the world.”

Photo Salute, Treasure Hunt

More than 2,000 students, faculty and staff members came together on Chess Plaza to recognize McDermott, Green and Jonsson on Founders Day, which marked the 1964 dedication of the Founders Building.

They enjoyed free food and giveaways and participated in a group photo near the fountains on the south end of Margaret McDermott Mall.

UT Dallas President Richard C. Benson addressed the crowd and announced the winners of the treasure hunt that led up to Founders Day. Prizes were donated by the Visitor Center and University Bookstore, the Campus Tech Store, The Coca-Cola Co., and the University’s snack vendors.

The winners were:

Vinh Le (a $100 gift card for the University Bookstore, a 5-pound Hershey’s bar and an Oreo cookie jar)

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